As Gaby cheerfully told me: "From 'Stars and Semiconductors' to the saucy details of BBQ, this infographic shares some interesting facts on U.S. manufacturing and some longstanding American traditions."

I have to say that I do enjoy Atmel's infographics -- I always discover some tidbit of trivia or nugget of knowledge that resonates with me and sticks in my mind so I can amaze my family and friends (my wife thinks I'm really clever, and I don't like to disillusion her).

Even though I'm from England, I do enjoy the 4th of July holiday. I'm always amazed to think what a young country America is, and how the Americans have come so far in such a short period of time (with a little help and guidance from their older, wiser friends, of course).

Without America, we might not have many of the things we take for granted, at least not in their present forms, such as television, microprocessors, the Internet, or iPads, to name but a few. At the very least, the world would be a very different place. What are your thoughts as to the best, most useful, and most unusual things that America has presented to the world?

While you are cogitating and ruminating on that, I, everyone else at EETimes, and the
Atmel team all offer you our very best wishes for a very happy 4th of July!

I suppose that there are a lot of things that could be done better at the USA, but I believe it is a great country. Once upon a time, I was "fighting" with very conservative ideas and people at Spain; then I noticed that the Internet had opened a door to connecting with the people in the other side of the Atlantic Ocean... and I discovered a country of open minded scientists and innovators!

There are quite a few open-minded people in the USA, but we need all the encouragement we can get :-)

Have you ever read Faster Than the Speed of Light: The Story of a Scientific Speculation by João Magueijo? Fascinating book, both for the physics and the challenges of trying to advance a new idea in a world of orthodox thinking. At one point Dr. Magueijo describes a certain kind of older colleagues who are particularly rigid in their thinking and notes that they are usually stone deaf as well. He speculates that their ability to hear has atrophied through disuse.

@Betajet LOL....Winston Churchill had a gift for putting thiings in a short and pithy but very clear fashion. A bit cynical, some would say, but as another great Briton, George Bernard Shaw remarked:

"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."

On a serious note, it is encouraging to see manufacturing slowly returning to the US (If I read this right). Australia is still in the process of having its manufacturing jumping or being pushed offshore. But where the US goes, Australia often follows, so let's hope that happens in this instance as well.

@David: On a serious note, it is encouraging to see manufacturing slowly returning to the US.

I agree -- the scary thing is all the skilled machinists and other trades we've lost -- the only way to learn a lot of this stuff is working alongside skilled people, and if they've retired you're uyp the creek without a paddle.

I was watching "Undercover Boss" on TV this weekend -- the first episode I've seen based in the UK -- it was about the construction industry -- one of the points an older supervisor made was that every team shoudl have a "lad" who was learning the trade, but that with the cutbacks none of the teams had younger folks coming up through the ranks...